This Is TASTE

Today’s episode is really special: a deep eating and drinking tour of Kingston, New York, the Hudson Valley town located under two hours’ drive from New York City that has quietly built one of the most interesting food scenes in the state. Matt has lived nearby for the past five years after two decades in Brooklyn, and Kingston has become his go-to for dining out. His guide for the day: Jenn Sit, editorial director of food and drink at Clarkson Potter, Kingston born -and -raised, and part of a longtime Kingston restaurant family. Consider this your summer-into-fall Hudson Valley trip-planning assignment.

Check out all the places mentioned on Google Maps.
Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Jenn Saesue didn’t want to open another Thai restaurant that served the same watered-down menu as everyone else’s—so she didn’t. Nearly a decade later, she’s the cofounder of 55 Hospitality, the group behind Fish Cheeks, the Michelin-listed Bangkok Supper Club, and Bub’s Bakery, New York’s first completely allergen-free bakery. Matt talks with Jenn about refusing pad Thai, managing an impossible reservation list, and how a birthday cake for her husband turned into a two-and-a-half-year research and development project.

Subscribe to This Is TASTE: ⁠⁠Apple Podcasts⁠⁠, ⁠⁠Spotify⁠⁠, ⁠⁠YouTube⁠⁠
Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Matt Johnson directed the films BlackBerry and the DIY comedy Nirvanna the Band the Show the Movie—now he’s taking on Anthony Bourdain. His new film Tony, out in August from A24, skips the traditional biopic format entirely, compressing three formative Provincetown summers described in Kitchen Confidential into one transformative season for a 19-year-old, pre-fame Bourdain. Johnson joins us to talk about adapting a book everyone already loves, directing Dominic Sessa away from doing an impression, and his love for the Canadian rock band Sloan.

And before that, Matt shares some recent restaurant visits, including stops at Thai Diner, Keens, and Goosefeather.

Check out Matt on the podcast Put It In My Mouth.
Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Pierce Abernathy is a recipe developer and content creator based in Brooklyn. You may know him from his popular online videos showcasing his seasonal approach to plant-forward cooking—and now, he’s releasing a debut cookbook: Every Leaf, Every Stem: Craveable, Creative Vegetables All Year Round. Today on the show, we go deep on Pierce’s inspiration and book-making process, including getting the book’s introduction written by the one and only Alice Waters, and his upcoming book tour.

Subscribe to This Is TASTE: ⁠⁠Apple Podcasts⁠⁠, ⁠⁠Spotify⁠⁠, ⁠⁠YouTube⁠⁠
Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

In 2005, Matt sat across from Anthony Bourdain at a magazine photo shoot. His first TV show, No Reservations, was only a few months old, and they dug into the contents of his travel bags, which he had brought to the set from his apartment in Hell’s Kitchen. Two hours turned into a highly personal conversation, recorded on a cassette that sat untouched for twenty years. This week, that tape gets its first public airing, and we discuss Tony’s preferred sucker-punch etiquette, his loyalty to cigarettes and the Chateau Marmont, ayahuasca in Peru, and the talk show he dreamed up with Christopher Walken in mind. The Bourdain biopic, Tony, is out on August 7.

Subscribe to This Is TASTE: ⁠⁠Apple Podcasts⁠⁠, ⁠⁠Spotify⁠⁠, ⁠⁠YouTube⁠⁠
Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices